I can’t be the only one who watches more TV during this time of year. My excuse for this rather lazy habit is typically the weather. I often tell myself, “It’s too cold and stormy to go out.” Then I plop myself into my spot on the couch and remain there for the rest of the night. Sometimes sleeping in that very spot until morning.
Please don’t judge me.
My husband and I enjoy watching a variety of sports and comedy reruns on cable, but lately, we have been getting our fix from athlete documentaries on various streaming platforms. For context, we recently enjoyed documentaries about Connor McDavid, as well as those on the Boston and Barkley marathons.
I know documentaries are not everyone’s taste. However, I prefer to watch documentaries because I find it hard to find a film with an original story. It seems like most of the recently released films are either a re-make or have a very similar storyline to another film, making it redundant to watch.
I find documentaries are always different from one another. My theory is no two lives are the same, therefore no two documentaries should be the same.
Our most recent excitement came from a Netflix documentary titled, 14 Peaks.
The film introduces you to Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, and follows him as he climbs the world’s 14 mountains that exceed 8,000 metres in seven months.
The only other climber to successfully climb the 14 tallest peaks was Reinhold Messner, and he did so over the course of 16 years. Not only did Purja’s team successfully climb to the top of the world’s tallest mountains, one after another, but often they made the path for other mountaineers to follow.
Purja’s team broke six world records during this feat.
There were many incredible aspects to his story, too many to list in this column, however, one that stood out to me as a journalist was the media frenzy that followed one of his 2019 Instagram posts during this unbelievable journey.
In May 2019, Purja posted a photo of hundreds of climbers literally waiting in line to get to the top of Mount Everest. This photo went viral, even the New York Times published it on their front page.
I remember seeing that front page, and seeing all the opinions that followed – many times from late-night talk show hosts joking that every other person, and their brother, can say they have climbed Mount Everest.
However, I believe this was a huge missed opportunity for international news agencies.
Purja posted this photo after his team had completed their fourth successful climb. Additionally, his climb to the peak of Mount Everest was the first of three peaks exceeding 8,000 metres in two days.
I consider myself fairly informed when it comes to current events, and I remember seeing this photo, however, I cannot remember hearing about Purja’s ongoing efforts.
It wasn’t because he was keeping it secret, as the documentary often showed him speaking to his social media following on video at the top of each mountain.
The media that welcomed Purja and his team home after completing the 14 climbs, was not what you would expect as a response to the incredibly challenging triumph.
Part of the reason why Purja set out to do this was to shine a light on the fact that the Sherpa people of Nepal have been helping westerners successfully climb mountains, without proper recognition.
The fact that international media didn’t properly showcase Purja’s accomplishments proves his point.
There is a divide, and there is still a lot of work to be done in the portrayal of minority groups.
After watching this film, I asked myself “why haven’t I heard about this man and his accomplishments, because they are truly unbelievable and extremely motivational.”
It is sad to think that some people wouldn’t want to showcase this incredible accomplishment, simply because of the person who performed the tasks.
The true beauty of Purja’s story is that it is likely because of his origin that he was able to complete the 14th climb. I don’t want to give away the ending, so I will just say that I highly recommend watching this film.
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Kelsey Bent is a Midwestern Newspapers journalist. She can be reached by emailing kbent@midwesternnewspapers.com.
